Lomelo Assigned To Pastoral Elgin Prison

September 16, 1985|By Michael Romano, Staff Writer

John Lomelo Jr. will reluctantly swap residences by the end of next week, trading his address in the city of Sunrise for an inmate`s number at the minimum-security federal prison at Eglin Air Force Base.

After five weeks in a personal purgatory, the longtime former Sunrise mayor has been ordered to surrender on Sept. 26 to authorities at Eglin, a pastoral, problem-free prison about 50 miles east of Pensacola in Florida`s Panhandle.

There, amid tennis courts, airy dormitories and well-kept lawns, Lomelo, 57, will serve out a seven-year sentence for his role in a complicated extortion- fraud scheme.

``For my family`s sake, that`s where I`d like (my sentence) to be (served),`` Lomelo said Sunday. ``My main concern is my family. I have no reaction whatsoever (about the designation).``

Lomelo, who appears tanned and fit, will be eligible for parole after serving 28 months of the sentence, which was handed down Aug. 9 by U.S. District Judge James C. Paine.

He was to have been notified of the designation by telegram, according to routine policy. But Lomelo, who is expected to report by 2 p.m. on the designated date, said Sunday he still had not received word.

``Again, I don`t know,`` he said. ``I have received no official notification.``

Lomelo, who expects to ``just relax`` during his final few days of freedom, also firmly stated that he would grant no interviews either en route to Eglin or during his stay there.

``I`d like to leave my notoriety here, if possible,`` Lomelo said, displaying an uncharacteristic tinge of bitterness. ``I`m not going to give any interviews. That`s it.``

Meanwhile, Marvin L. ``Spike`` Leibowitz, convicted along with Lomelo in federal court June 28, has been ordered to report to the U.S. Marshal`s Office in Miami on Sept. 26 to begin serving his five-year sentence in an as-yet- undesignated prison.

Like his co-defendant Lomelo, Leibowitz said Sunday that he had not received any notice about his surrender to federal authorities.

``No notice at all,`` he said. ``Nor has my lawyer.``

Leibowitz reportedly will remain in the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami until sentence is imposed on his guilty plea on charges relating to tax evasion, one federal official said.

Leibowitz`s attorney, Lawrence ``Chris`` Roberts, had requested that his client, who reportedly is in poor health, be assigned to the federal prison in Lexington, Ky., which offers extensive medical facilities.

The process that led to the designation of a prison site was unusually long in Lomelo`s case, said Rory McMahon, the probation officer who conducted the pre-sentence investigation and confirmed Sunday that Lomelo would serve his time at Eglin.

McMahon said court-ordered changes in the presentence report slowed the designation process, which normally takes less than a month.

The federal prison at Eglin, midway between Pensacola and Panama City near Fort Walton Beach, has a reputation as something of a ``country club`` for well-heeled or politically influential inmates, particularly those convicted of white-collar crimes.

Lomelo, who served as Sunrise mayor for 18 years, now will serve his sentence in a setting that has been home to former Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel and several prominent Watergate participants, including Howard Hunt and Bernard Barker.

Despite dormitory facilities, each of the more than 700 inmates has a small, individual cubicle, an official there said Sunday. Prisoners are required to work eight hours each day at the prison, which has no bars or armed guards.